Skeptical Thoughts

Robert Bigelow believes aliens are on earth

June 4, 2017

Robert Bigelow is convinced that aliens are not only real, but they have visited earth and are living on our planet. He believes that his grandparents were visited by an alien craft, and says that he has spent millions gathering evidence that aliens are among us. People have pointed out that his company Bigelow Aerospace's logo looks a lot like the head of a "gray" - the most popular depiction of an alien, with big almond shaped eyes and a teardrop face.

I would love to see that evidence. I wonder whether it's the same kind of stuff we see from UFO enthusiasts - blurry photos, faked FBI reports, wobbly video of a single light in the sky with no frame of reference. I'd hate to think that people may have taken advantage of Robert by creating faked UFO material and selling it to him.

However, Robert is a rich man. He made his fortune in real estate, and has been investing heavily in creating the "Bigelow Expandable Activity Module" (BEAM) for space travel. There is currently a test module attached to the ISS. It's great that people like Bigelow, Elon Musk and New Zealand's own Peter Beck (of Rocket Lab) have a passion for space that means they're willing to take large risks setting up corporate aerospace companies. If the impetus for Bigelow is that he believes aliens are here, then so be it!

I searched for celebrities who believe in aliens, and it was interesting to see the names of Science Fiction actors who believe aliens - Dan Akroyd of Ghostbusters, Sigourney Weaver of Alien, William Shatner of Star Trek and Amy Adams from Arrival. However, the media tend to not distinguish between those who simply believe that, as with the Drake Equation, the chance of life evolving elsewhere is good, and those who think that stories of alien visitation are true.

It's not just celebrities, either. Edgar Mitchell, sixth man on the moon, believed that aliens are regular visitors to earth.